7 December: The First Knowledge ConferenceDec 7, 2014Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF), the first Knowledge Conference will be held from December 7 to 9 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Dubai.

April

29 - 30 April: Regional Youth Volunteering ForumApr 15, 2014UNV is organizing the first Regional Youth Volunteering Forum in Marrakesh, Morocco, in April 2014. The Forum will bring together the three key youth volunteering stakeholders, youth, governments and CSOs, to facilitate dialogues, the exchange of knowledge and sharing of best practices to gain a better understanding of the role of youth volunteerism in socio-economic development and participatory governance.

March

Syria Crisis - Beyond the BordersMay 4, 2014With the crisis in Syria now entering its fourth year, the devastating cost in human suffering shows no clear sign of abating. In addition to the tragic loss of life, the crisis has set Syria’s development back an estimated 35 years, a legacy which may require decades to reverse.

31 March - 2 April: Launch of UNDP Youth Strategy 2014-2017: ‘Empowered Youth, Sustainable Future’Apr 1, 2014The newly approved UNDP Youth Strategy will be launched in Tunis, Tunisia followed by a knowledge sharing and prospective forum on civic engagement and participation in political processes and public institutions, convened by the UNDP Bureau for Development Policy. Building on the momentum from days one and two, the UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States aims to chart regional priorities and solidify a vision for work on youth in the region on day three.

January

15 January: Kuwait II Side-EventJan 14, 2014Three years into the Syria conflict, neighbouring countries continue to provide assistance to millions of Syrian refugees. Yet the strain on national budgets and community resources is pushing more host country citizens into poverty and straining social services, infrastructure and national treasuries. Thus neighbouring governments are preparing national development response plans, which address continuing refugee needs, but also seek to ensure the well-being of their own citizens. These plans, closely coordinated with humanitarian assistance plans, anticipate a multi-faceted response to assure immediate relief, strengthen individual and community resilience and rebuild essential development infrastructure.

5 December: International Volunteer Day celebrationsDec 4, 2013On International Volunteer Day (IVD) 2013, we not only celebrate and recognize volunteerism in all its facets – but pay special tribute to the contribution of youth volunteers in global peace and sustainable human development. For IVD 2013 we celebrate globally that young people act as the agents of change in their communities. On 5 December, 2013 join us in recognizing all volunteers' commitment and applaud hundreds of millions of people who volunteer to make the world a better place.

8 December: Art for Fighting CorruptionDec 15, 2013Every year, the people of the world mark 9 December as International Anti-Corruption Day, which serves as a global call for action against corruption. The theme for the 2013 International Anti-Corruption Day campaign is ‘Zero Corruption, 100% Development’. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Sudan Country Office has been selected among 44 countries out of 60 to celebrate the Anti-Corruption Day. Accordingly, the Governance & Rule of Law Unit supported by the Communication Unit, OSD, UN Information Center (UNIC) actively engaged in convening the a week long Anti-Corruption Campaign through organization of various advocacy and outreach activities.

November

25 - 26 November: Arab Consultation on the protection of economic and social rights in post-revolutions ConstitutionsDec 16, 2013This regional consultation will bring together countries from the Arab region where the process for constitutional reform is still ongoing or has recently finished to take stock of the status of the debate on the protection of economic and social rights in the constitution. Bearing in mind the importance of a comparative approach and south-south cooperation, it will also bring experts from other regions to share their experiences and lessons learnt on this subject.

28 November: Launch of UNDP Regional Bureau of Arab State Report on “Water Governance in the Arab Region”Nov 28, 2013the United Nations Development Programme’s Regional Bureau for Arab States (UNDP-RBAS) has gathered technical and policy experts from across the region to produce the “Water Governance in the Arab Region – managing scarcity and securing the future” report. It is intended to provide the Arab countries and the international community, donors, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders with an extensive understanding of the water situation in the region, moving beyond the traditional approach of simply presenting inventories of availability, uses, accessibility, dependency, etc, to place the water crisis in a socioeconomic and environmental context.

October

August - October: A Series of Dialogue to Advance Human Development in SudanNov 17, 2013The Sudan Talks aim to stimulate public debate, generate ideas, broaden understanding of development issues, and enhance transparency and accountability in the development process. They also aim to strengthen public support for efforts to improve the lives of people in Sudan, and to facilitate dialogue and collaboration among the many parties involved in the development process.

24 October: UNV Caravan of Volunteerism in Tunisia Oct 21, 2013The Caravan of Volunteerism, organized by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in Tunisia, is ready to kick off its activities on UN Day (24 October). Organized as part of the Arab Youth Volunteering for a Better Future project, the caravan will depart from Tunis and travel across the North African country for 14 days, reaching communities and youth in eight governorates, including the most remote areas of Tunisia.

21 September: International Day of Peace from IraqDec 16, 2013Building on the success of last year’s events in Baghdad, the United Nations in Iraq is expanding the scope of its Peace Day activities to include events in Basra, while also planning activities in Baghdad designed to promote public engagement. Working in close coordination with the Ministry of Culture, the events will feature artistic, cultural, and political displays relevant to theme of this year’s Peace Day.

22 - 25 September: The Social Good Summit in the Arab StatesSep 27, 2013Last year UNDP hosted more than 40 Social Good Summit meetups in countries across the globe. This year more than 60 countries are participating, bringing more communities into the conversation. In many places, UNDP’s meetups are bridging the digital divide, giving a voice to people whoever and wherever they are. This year number of UNDP country offices in the Arab States are hosting local meet-ups with leading experts, bloggers, advocates and innovators about how social media and technology can help address some of our world's biggest challenge.

August

19 August: World Humanitarian DayAug 19, 2013New York — Today marks the tenth anniversary of the bombing of the United Nations Headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, an attack that claimed the lives of 22 UN and aid agency staff including the Secretary-General’s Special Representative to Iraq, Sérgio Vieira de Mello.

July

2 - 4 July: The Role of Think Tanks in Supporting Policy DialogueDec 16, 2013The UNDP Oslo Governance Centre and the Foundation for the Future, in cooperation with UNDP’s Regional Centre in Cairo, are organising a regional forum in Amman, Jordan on 2-4 July to discuss how think tanks can use their expertise to contribute further in shaping the new political, social and economic opportunities in the Arab region.

April

10 - 11 April: Arab Development ForumDec 16, 2013In order to succeed in building a clear, coherent and inspiring post-2015 development agenda across the Arab region, the Regional United Nations Development Group (UNDG) is organizing a forum on addressing the Development Agenda in Arab Countries. High-Level Panel Member for Post – 2015 in the Arab region Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan is expected to participate.

7 - 8 April: International Donor Conference for Construction and Development in DarfurApr 14, 2013On the 7th and 8th of April, the international community will meet in Doha to endorse the Strategy for Recovery, Reconstruction and Development in Darfur (DDS) developed through a comprehensive consultation process in partnership with the Government of Sudan, the Darfur Regional Authority, UN agencies, International Financial Institutions and Civil Society. The conference has 3 objectives: (a) to endorse the strategy, (b) to agree on the coordination and funding mechanism, and (c) to confirm financial commitments of the international community for the implementation of the strategy.

March

8 March: International Women's DayMar 8, 2013International Women’s Day 2012 focuses on the empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges.

19 - 21 March: The First Arab Regional Conference for Disaster Risk ReductionApr 1, 2013The 1st Arab Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) will bring together the key actors in DRR from the 22 Arab countries. It will provide a forum for Arab politicians, policy makers, planners, academia and development experts to discuss issues and challenges facing the region with regard to disaster risk reduction.

2012

November

4 - 6 November: Urban Risk Management WorkshopOct 29, 2012The purpose of Regional Advocacy Workshop is to mobilize support from municipal governments and UNDP country offices to design and implement interventions for urban risk reduction in high risk Arab cities. The workshop participants will include mayors/senior municipal officials and UNDP staff from target countries.

7 - 9 November: Regional Consultation on Transitional Justice Development in the MENA RegionOct 29, 2012The Regional Consultation will take stock of the steps taken by the participating countries of the region in the area of transitional justice. It will create an open forum for the different actors across the MENA region to share experiences and practices on transitional justice initiatives, and identify challenges and needs. It will also look at the way forward, and discuss possible cooperation with national, regional and international stakeholders.

26 - 29 November: Regional Governance Week Mar 11, 2014The “Governance Week” will take stock of the progress made towards democratic transitions from the perspective of social accountability, focusing on the process of re-negotiating the social contract between the citizens and State in the Arab Region.

October

17 October : International Day for the Eradication of Poverty Oct 17, 2012Extreme poverty destroys the lives and spirit of people; it kills more children, young persons, and adults than any war. Every day, people living in extreme poverty are challenged and threatened by lack of food, shelter and access to essential services.

13 October: International Day for Disaster ReducationOct 26, 2012In the last decade, almost one million people have been killed by disasters and more than one trillion dollars have been lost. Yet only 1% of international aid is spent to minimise the impact of these disasters.

September

15 September: International Day of DemocracyJan 15, 2015The subject of this year's theme -- democracy education -- is essential for the long-term success of democracy. It is only with educated citizens that a sustainable culture of democracy can emerge.

22 - 24 September: Global Social Good Summit 2012 Oct 25, 2012Thousands of innovative technologists, influential minds and passionate activists will debate solutions to global challenges at the Social Good Summit — an in-person and online gathering to discuss the power of digital media and technology to change our world.

June

20-22 June: Rio+20 Sustainable Development SummitJun 20, 2012The 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, or “Rio+20” is a forum on how to make sustainable development a reality for seven billion people today, and to define the future we want for nine billion by 2050.

March

8 March: International Women's DayMar 8, 2012International Women’s Day 2012 focuses on the empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges.